Detecting the exposure to Cd and PCBs by means of a non-invasive transcriptomic approach in laboratory and wild contaminated European eels (Anguilla anguilla)

• Published in: Environmental Science and Pollution Research
• Main Authors: Baillon, L., Pierron, F., Oses, J., Pannetier, P., Normandeau, E., Couture, P., Labadie, P., Budzinski, H., Lambert, Patrick, Bernatchez, L., Baudrimont, M.
• Other Authors: Faculty of Engineering and the Environment (µVIS X-ray Imaging Centre), University of Southampton, Institut National de la Recherche Scientifique Québec (INRS), Laboratoire de Physico -& Toxico Chimie des systèmes naturels (LPTC), Université Sciences et Technologies - Bordeaux 1-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Institut des Sciences Moléculaires (ISM), Université Montesquieu - Bordeaux 4-Université Sciences et Technologies - Bordeaux 1-École Nationale Supérieure de Chimie et de Physique de Bordeaux (ENSCPB)-Institut de Chimie du CNRS (INC)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Ecosystèmes aquatiques et changements globaux (UR EABX), Institut national de recherche en sciences et technologies pour l'environnement et l'agriculture (IRSTEA), Institut de Biologie Intégrative et des Systèmes Québec (IBIS), Environnements et Paléoenvironnements OCéaniques (EPOC), Observatoire aquitain des sciences de l'univers (OASU), Université Sciences et Technologies - Bordeaux 1-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université Sciences et Technologies - Bordeaux 1-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-École pratique des hautes études (EPHE), Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: HAL CCSD 2016
• Subjects: [SDE]Environmental Sciences; Anguilla anguilla
• Online Access: https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-02289127; https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-015-5754-2

Detecting and separating specific effects of contaminants in a multi-stress field context remain a major challenge in ecotoxicology. In this context, the aim of this study was to assess the usefulness of a non-invasive transcriptomic method, by means of a complementary DNA (cDNA) microarray comprising 1000 candidate genes, on caudal fin clips. Fin gene transcription patterns of European eels (Anguilla anguilla) exposed in the laboratory to cadmium (Cd) or a polychloro-biphenyl (PCBs) mixture but also of wild eels from three sampling sites with differing contamination levels were compared to test whether fin clips may be used to detect and discriminate the exposure to these contaminants. Also, transcriptomic profiles from the liver and caudal fin of eels experimentally exposed to Cd were compared to assess the detection sensitivity of the fin transcriptomic response. A similar number of genes were differentially transcribed in the fin and liver in response to Cd exposure, highlighting the detection sensitivity of fin clips. Moreover, distinct fin transcription profiles were observed in response to Cd or PCB exposure. Finally, the transcription profiles of eels from the most contaminated site clustered with those from laboratory-exposed fish. This study thus highlights the applicability and usefulness of performing gene transcription assays on non-invasive tissue sampling in order to detect the in situ exposure to Cd and PCBs in fish.